Removing the Y Bones from Northern Pike (Tutorial)

Jeff: Welcome to

removing

Y

bones

from

northern

pike

. Presented by the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. Here's what you'll need to get started. Until you feel more comfortable

removing

Y

bones

, we recommend practicing at home. A row of Y bones lies on each side of the spine in an inverted manner with the tail of the Y extending toward the dorsal side of the fish. This is the section of meat that should be removed while keeping the rest of the steak intact. Start by removing the sides of the fish. Just behind the head, you're going to make a cut up to the spine, but not through the spine.

And then you're going to go down to the belly cut. I like to go up to this fin. And then go back to the first cut that we made, and then you're going to turn the knife and go down the entire length of the fish, along the back. And then this is where it's a little different. If you are doing a walleye, many times you would stop here so you can remove the skin. But actually we're going to cut because we want to leave the skin for now. Flip the fish and do the same on the other side.

With the knife at an angle, look for the ribs. Working slowly back and forth until removed. Discard ribs. Now, let's work on freeing those Y bones. We'll start by cutting the meat off the top of the bones. Touch the top of the tip of the fork into a Y shape. And we're just going to cut as close to them as possible. And you're going to cut until you feel the long part of the bone sticking like this, and when you run the knife over it, you can hear it and feel it. Then we need to take the knife, turn it to the side and go under this piece, but along the top of the Y bones.

Be careful not to cut into this section of meat. Now you will make a cut under the bones in a Y shape. Locate the lateral line on the fillet. This will serve as a guide for the other tip of the Y-bone fork. Insert the knife into the fillet. And as you cut, you also turn your knife to the side to get under those bones. At this point, you should have a channel of meat containing the Y-bones just barely connected to the fillet at the narrowest point, the tail of the Y-bone. Lift this channel, moving it away and away from the fillet.

Finally, remove the skin from the fillet. Grasp the end of the tail, carefully running the knife between the fillet and the skin. Work from beginning to end. Discard the skin and rinse the fillet in water to prepare for cooking or canning. Repeat this process to remove the Y bones and skin from the other side. You have now removed the bones AND kept the hole fillet intact. For more information, contact the North Dakota Department of Game and Fish.